Wednesday, October 31, 2001
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Wednesday, October 31, 2001 |
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Power plant vote delayed again; Williams sets more studies By JOHN
THOMPSON
Proponents and opponents of a huge power plant will have a little more time to study the issue before it's voted on by the Fulton County Commission. Williams Inc. officials announced last week that a proposed decision on the issue will not be brought before the Fulton County Commission until next March. The issue was scheduled to be voted on in January, but Williams has compiled more studies, and wants the public to have time to voice their opinions, said company spokesman Paula Hall-Collins. The company wants to build a power plant on a 315-acre site on Peters Road in South Fulton County and has caused a stir in Fulton and Fayette counties from residents who don't want the site in their back yard. But Hall-Collins said the company has taken many of the residents' concerns into consideration and changed some elements of the plan. One of the latest issues concerned a cemetery on the site. Since the issue was raised, Hall-Collins said the company has changed the footprint for the site and decreased the size of the plant from 30 acres to 25 acres. "We won't disturb the cemetery at all," said Hall-Collins. Other changes include lowering the size of the stacks of the plant from 210 feet to 195 feet. She said the stacks were lowered so the company won't have to place lights on top in keeping with FAA guidelines. Any other lighting at the site will be unobtrusive and aimed downward, she said. "A lot of power plants are lit up like Christmas trees. That's not our intent," she said. Another concern of residents is the noise level at the facility. The company has commissioned new studies on noise levels and plans to reduce the noise levels even further, she said. But the biggest concern many residents have broached is air pollution. Williams sought out the opinion of Dr. P. Barry Ryan, an Emory professor who specializes in environment and occupational health issues. "Added health risk from the Fulton Energy Center is likely to be so small that one will not be able to measure it," he said. Williams officials also met with Fulton County Commissioner Bill Edwards last week. Edwards said he thinks the company is working very hard on trying to change the public's opinion and he is currently reviewing the information. The commissioner said a lot of his constituents want a full-blown environmental impact study and he conveyed that information to the company officials. Edwards said the company's timing may be bad in trying to place a power plant in South Fulton County. "Folks in South Fulton are changing their attitudes and saying they don't want to be a dumping ground for environmental problems," he said. He is impressed the company is forthcoming with more information. "If they [Williams] don't supply the information, the other side will," he said. Williams officials plan to stage public meetings with residents about their new studies within the next few weeks.
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